Caribbean Surname Index

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Family stories, reported by his granddaughter, suggest that William BLAND, a millwright in Yorkshire, left England to go to seek his fortune in Trinidad some time shortly after 1820. The story continues to state that he was successful, wrote regularly to his wife in England and, just as he was about to return to England with his fortune, he died of yellow fever and was buried on the same day! It is said that his business partner/secretary, John Clarke, took all the money and disappeared!

I have been unable to trace William BLAND on Trinidad but recently someone has contacted me to say that the name BLAND has cropped up on Tobago. I am wondering if the granddaughter confused Trinidad with Tobago.

If anyone has any information about a BLAND on Tobago, I would be very keen to hear it. This has been my brick wall for over 20 years!

More information is now to hand, thanks to excellent advice from new Caribbean correspondents. I now know that William BLAND went to Trinidad between 1819 & 1822. He was there in 1825, in North Naparima, but died of Yellow fever before 1828. As he was a millwright and employed "30 blacks who work well if kindly treated" (William's words in a letter home), I would expect that he operated a sugar mill.

I also know that there was a Port of Spain merchant in Trinidad at the same time, by the name of George BLAND, and that they came from towns not too far apart in the north of England, so might have been related.

Any information about William and/or George BLAND would be very welcome!